This small ice cream shop was saved by Pokémon Go

Business is booming for a once struggling ice cream shop in Anacortes, Washington. And it’s all because of Pokémon Go.

The owner of Mad Hatter’s Ice Cream,
Gary Dear, told KING 5 that he’s had to extend hours and hire more employees since the game was released in early July.

“The Pokey light shines down on me!” he told the local news station.

Dear closed his shop in late June due to illness before suddenly reopening days later around the time that Pokémon Go was released in the App Store.

Players now flock to his shop because of its position near multiple Pokéstops on the game’s map. They stand outside the shop and place items called lures on the stops to attract Pokémon to the area.

“I live here and the lures are almost always up till 1am or later sometimes,” one Reddit user wrote on Thursday.

And this ice cream shop isn’t the only business benefitting from the game. A recent survey by

Slant Marketing found that 82% of Pokémon Go players had visited a business while playing the game. McDonald’s Japan just reported a 27% jump in sales after partnering with Pokémon Go to turn its restaurants into sponsored Pokéstops.

NOW WATCH: Tech Insider videos

Want to read a more in-depth view on the trends influencing Australian business and the global economy? BI / Research is designed to help executives and industry leaders understand the major challenges and opportunities for industry, technology, strategy and the economy in the future. Sign up for free at research.businessinsider.com.au.